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Pearl Jam - Lightning Bolt

Pearl Jam’s tenth studio album, Lightning Bolt, feels like a very comfortable place for the band. I mean this in the best possible way. In the bands 23rd year, the music is sounding more self-assured than ever. This is a band that used to thrive on feeling out of place and uneasy, even when selling millions of records. There is a story that Eddie Vedder has told about when the band was recording their sophomore release, .VS. He slept in his car each night because the environment felt “too comfortable”. He felt he needed some discomfort to produce at his highest level. I find it hard to believe anything like that was the case with this album.

The happiness and comfort can be heard in many of the tracks on the record. There are still the angry rockers, such as “Mind Your Manners” and “My Father’s Son”, but they match up with songs that make you smile, like “Let The Records Play” and “Lightning Bolt”. The song “Sirens” talks about the fragility of life, but in a bittersweet way.

It’s great to see Pearl Jam thriving after all this time. Lightning Bolt makes sure that will continue at least for a little while longer.